IRCyr   Inscriptions of Roman Cyrenaica

M.141. Boundary marker

Description: Three fragments from the upper part of a limestone stele, w: 77 x h: 93 x d: 40
Text: Inscribed on the face
Letters: 0.04, carefully cut and aligned. Intralinear spaces are regular, but spaces between letters diminish slightly from line 9 onwards; last 3 letters of line 13 are only 0.025.

Date: 53 CE

Findspot: Gebel Akhdar: West of Cyrene: Jabbānat al Khuwaymāt.
Original location: Findspot.
Last recorded location: Findspot

Interpretive

Τι(βέριος) Κλαύδιος Καῖ-
σαρ Σεβαστὸς
Γερμανικός,
ἀρχ[ι]ερεὺς μέγι̣σ̣-
5[τ]ο̣ς δημαρχικῆς
ἐξουσίας τὸ ιγ´, Αὐ-
τοκ[ρά]τωρ̣ τὸ κζ´
πατὴ[ρ] πατρίδος,
τιμητ[ὴς] ὕπατος [τὸ]
10ε´ . διὰ Λ(ουκίου) Ἀκ̣[ιλί]ου Στράβω-
νος ἰδίου π[ρ]εσβευτοῦ,
μεταξ[υ]μ̣ε̣σίτου καὶ τῆς
Κυρ[ηναικῆς ἐ]παρχίας ὅρους
[κατεχομένους ὑπὸ ἰδιωτῶν
15Δ(ήμῳ) Ῥ(ωμαίων) ἀποκατέστησεν]

Diplomatic

ΤΙΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΣΚΑΙ
ΣΑΡΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ
ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΟΣ
ΑΡΧ[.]ΕΡΕΥΣΜΕΓ..
5[.].ΣΔΗΜΑΡΧΙΚΗΣ
ΕΞΟΥΣΙΑΣΤΟΙΓΑΥ
ΤΟΚ[..]ΤΩ.ΤΟΚΖ
ΠΑΤΗ[.]ΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣ
ΤΙΜΗΤ[..]ΥΠΑΤΟΣ[..]
10ΕΔΙΑΛΑ.[...]ΟΥΣΤΡΑΒΩ
ΝΟΣΙΔΙΟΥΠ[.]ΕΣΒΕΥΤΟΥ
ΜΕΤΑΞ[.]..ΣΙΤΟΥΚΑΙΤΗΣ
ΚΥΡ[........]ΠΑΡΧΙΑΣΟΡΟΥΣ
[......................................]

Apparatus

11: Π.ΕΣΒΕΤΥΟΥ

English translation

Translation by: Charlotte Roueché

Ti(berius) Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, high priest (i.e. pontifex maximus), holding tribunician power for the thirteenth time, acclaimed imperator twenty-seven times, father of the country, censor, consul for the fifth time, by the action of L(oukios) Akilios Strabon (i.e. Lucius Acilius Strabo), his personal envoy, also arbitrator of the Cyrenaican province, [he restored to the Roman People the boundaries (i.e. of the estates) which had been occupied by private persons].

French translation

Translation source:

Tiberius Claudius César Auguste Germanicus, grand pontife, détenteur de la puissance tribunicienne pour la 13e fois, salué imperator pour la 27e fois, père de la patrie, censeur, 5 fois consul, par l'intermédiaire de L(ucius) Ac[ili]us Strabon, son légat personnel, disceptator pour la province de Cyrénaïque . . .

Commentary

It is likely, although not quite certain, that the left hand corner fragment may be the fragment from Kwemet, now in the Museum at Beida, mentioned by Mohamed and Reynolds (art.cit.)

Line 10: For Acilius Strabo see PIR2 A 0082, and addenda; he was active in Cyrenaica under Claudius and Nero: A.25, A.50, A.68, C.434, C.748, M.125, M.141, M.143, M.153, M.172, M.238, M.251, M.275, and perhaps M.68.

Line 12: μεταξυμεσίτης is apparently the translation of disceptator, an arbitrator; this is the term used to describe Strabo's mission by Tacitus, Annals 14.18: Acilium Strabonem, praetoria potestate usum et missum disceptatorem a Claudio agrorum, quos regis Apionis quondam avitos et populo Romano cum regno relictos proximus quisque possessor invaserant, diutinaque licentia et iniuria quasi iure et aequo nitebantur (available at Perseus)

Lines 13, 14: for the restoration cf eg M.172

Bibliography: Perhaps the upper corner illustrated Mohamed, 1992, 53, and mentioned Mohamed-Reynolds, 1996, 4, p.1326-7, whence 1997.710, SEG 46.2193; full text published Elmayer, 2008, pp. 136-138, whence, with some corrections, AE 2008.1604; from these SEG 58.1835, 2009.551
Text constituted from: Publications (Roueché).

Images

None available (2020).